Obtenção e caracterização de artefatos elastoméricos contendo aditivos provenientes de fontes renováveis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain, characterize and determine the technical viability of terpolymer of ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) compounds with the addition of vegetable oil derived from soybean (MD600), vulcanizing activator derived from sugar cane (MDECR) and filler grain (MDCO) to replace components traditionally used at rubber industry. The additives of renewable sources were characterized from the mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FTIR), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (CNH). The mixtures were processed in a torque rheometer like Haake and incorporation of the components of acceleration was held in a laboratory two-roll mill. A standard and nine compositions were prepared by varying the content of MDECR (3, 4 and 5 phr), MD600 (10, 15 and 25 phr) and MDCO (10, 30 and 50 phr). The characterization of the compositions was performed using the rheometric properties, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), crosslink density and physical-mechanical properties of density, hardness, tensile strength and tear resistance. All results were compared to a standard formulation of the production company profiles automotive. The results indicated that the vegetable filler and vulcanization activator derived of sugar cane have particle size distribution suitable for incorporation into new formulations. The thermal and chemical characteristics suggested that MDECR and MDCO had the structure of cellulose and their compositions and, the MD600 a typical structure of soybean oil. The rheometric properties are affected by the use of MD600 and MDECR, making these compounds to be processed in less time, while for MDCO this property was little affected. The physical-mechanical properties indicated that the best performance was achieved for the compositions containing 4 phr of MDECR and 10 phr of MD600, causing a reduction of 60% zinc content of 33% and the content of plasticizing oil. For MDCO, the mechanical properties were not affected. The DSC analysis confirmed the lubricating effect of the vegetable oil, as there was no reduction in glass transition temperature of the compounds. In addition, the analysis of cross-linking density, confirmed that the MDECR have a lower efficiency in the vulcanization process as compared to ZnO used traditionally, because the amount of crosslinking was lower when used to this activator.